“But to hear someone meant to start the fire is very upsetting. I can’t believe such an evil attack could happen in our own backyard.”

A fellow Cateswell Road resident, who asked not to be named, compared the tragedy to the Phillpott case in Derbyshire, in which dad Mick and his wife Mairead were convicted of killing six of their kids in a blaze.

The former factory worker said: “It makes you think about that awful Philpott thing.

“I can’t believe someone meant to start the fire.

“What is the world coming to?”

Mum-of-three Satntha Bendichauhan said: “All of my family are shocked.

“We just can’t understand why someone would set fire to a house with a whole family inside.”